Water gate



Feb. 7, 1967 L. R. WILSON WATER GATE Filed March 24, 1964 R mw m w M n E ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,302,409 WATER GATE Leon Ray Wilson, Sawtooth Ranch, Augusta, Mont. 59410 Filed Mar. 24, 1964, Ser. No. 354,305 9 Claims. (Cl. 6l--29) This invention relates to an irrigation dam as used in connection with canals and ditches.

In regions where irrigation of agriculture crops is necessary due to semi-arid climatic conditions, water is constantly parcelled out to individual acreages from a main artery of supply via irrigation ditches or canals. Under such circumstances, the supply of water is naturally limited and considerable care is exercised to guard against waste by leakage. In addition, to insure an equitable and desired distribution of water between different acreages, removable water gates of one sort or another are utilized to control distribution. The principal objective of this invention is to provide an improved water gate for this purpose.

An important objective of this invention is to provide a water gate of increased permanence through the use of a metallic frame supporting plastic sheet material or similar impervious resilient damming wings.

A still further objective of this invention is to provide structure having an ease of installation heretofore unknown to the art. More specifically, this objective relates to structure providing an installation procedure which consists of a single downward movement of the framing members.

A still further objective of the invention is to provide an improved water gate construction which is easily adapted to troughs, ditches or canals of different shapes and substances.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a construction of the type described with improved means for eliminating leakage between movable members.

Another important objective of the invention is to provide a water gate construction which eliminates the requirement of using dirt from the ditch bank as a seal for the gate which method of sealing can result in a deterioration of the ditch banks.

A still further objective of the invention is to provide a singularly permanent, light and economical water gate construction of increased durability and an unusual ease of fabrication.

These and other important objectives and advantages of the invention will be more fully understood upon a reading of the following specifications, taken in view of the attached drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 represents a perspective of the invention;

FIGURE 2 represents an elevation of an embodiment of the invention in use;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view along the line 33 of FIG. 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

Referring now with more particularity to the drawings, wherein like numerals indicate like elements, the water gate of this invention is indicated by the numeral 10. The gate is supported by a tubular framing member 12 formed with a lower pointed end 14 and an open upper end 16. Slidably and telescopically received within the tubular member 12 through open end 16 is a handle 18.

The framing member 12 is equipped with a pair of opposing elongated slots 20 through which a pair of damming wing members 22 and 24 are slidably received. The wing members are triangular in shape and at their lower ends are pivotally secured to framing support 12 about pin 26.

The body portion 28 of wing member 22 is reinforced I ce one along a first edge by the metallic edging 30, across its top edge by metallic edging 32, and along its ditch engaging edge by metallic edging 34. Throughout its length the edging 34 is sharpened at 36. The body portion 38 of wing member 24 is reinforced along a first edge by the metallic edging 40, across its top edge by metallic edging 42, and along its outer edge by metallic edging 44. The edging 44 is sharpened throughout its length at 46.

Edgings 34 and 44 are respectively extended beyond edges 32 and 42 for respectively forming a pair of pivot supports 50 and 52. Pivotally connected to support 50 is a tie rod 54 and pivotally connected at point 52 is a tie rod 56. At their upper ends, tie rods 54 and 56 are pivotally secured about a pin 53 which is supported in the upper portion of the shank 60 of handle 14. Note that shank 60 is slotted at 62 throughout most of its length. As seen best in FIGURE 3, the shank 60 is also slotted at 61 to receive a stop pin 63 extending inwardly from tube 12. This prevents the shank from being accidentally fully extracted from tube 12.

As seen best in FIG. 4, the wing member 22 is equipped along its inner edge with a sealing member 64 which engages the opposing face of wing member 22. Housed within the support tube 12 is a leaf spring 67 which continuously urges the two wing members toward one another to compress the sealing member 64.

In operation, the water gate is easily transported by hand because of its light-weight construction and the provision of the hand grip 66. Upon reaching the ditch position in which the water gateis to be inserted, an operator places point 14 against the bottom of the ditch and exerts a quick but firm downward stroke on hand grip 66. This motion causes point 14 to penetrate the bottom of the ditch and causes the sharpened edges 34 and 44 to penetrate the side of the ditch. Once the downward force applied to the device meets resistance, a further downward movement in handle 18 causes an expansion of the gate member as outward forces are applied via tie rods 54 and 56. The gate is removed by exerting an upward force on grip 66.

The invention thus far described has its principal use in generally V-shaped ditches having earthen side walls. It can easily be understood that if the ditch is trough shaped, the configuration of edges 34 and 44 can be changed accordingly.

Some of the more sophisticated irrigation systems include concrete side walls. The instant invention can be used for such ditches by substituting rubber members and 82 for edge members 34 and 44. A coil spring 86 under compression is secured between the wing members to positively bias the rubber edges against the concrete ditch side walls. A recess 90 can be formed in the ditch to receive the lower end of support 14. In each of the disclosed embodiments, the central structure associated with members 12 and 18 remains the same. However, especially when using the dam with concrete ditches it is advisable to incorporate a ratchet connection between members 12 and 16 with a pawl release supported by handle 66.

In a general manner, While there has been disclosed an effective and efficient embodiment of the invention, it should be well understood that the invention is not limited to such an embodiment, as there might be changes made in the arrangement, disposition, and form of the parts without departing from the principle of the present invention as comprehended within the scope of the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A device for sealing an irrigation ditch comprising, a tubular frame having a lower pointed end and an upper open end, said frame having a pair of opposing elongated slots running substantially the entire length thereof, first and second substantially triangular plates, a point of each plate pivotally secured to the lower end of said frame, said plates having slidably sealed overlapping inner portions slidably received in said slots, a handle having a lower portion telescopically received through said upper open end and an upper gripping portion, a pair of elongated bars having first ends respectively pivotally secured to outer portions of said plates and second ends pivotally secured to said upper gripping portion.

2. A device for sealing an irrigation ditch comprising, an upright tubular frame, first and second plates pivotally secured about a common axis running through said frame, means for moving said first plate from a partial overlapping of an inner section thereof with respect to an inner portion of said second plate to a second position of less overlapping, said means including a handle telescopically received in said frame, a pair of tie rods having inner ends pivotally connected to said handle and their outer ends respectively pivotally connected to outer sections of said first and second plates, compressible sealing means mounted on one of said inner sections between the overlapping portions of said plates and biasing means in said frame urging said plates toward one another.

3. A removable and adjustable dam for an irrigation ditch defined by a bottom and a pair of side walls comprising, an elongated upright frame having a lower end in engagement with said bottom, first and second darn plates pivotally secured at their lower ends to the lower end of said frame, an elongated handle member mounted on the upper end of said frame for reciprocal movement along the longitudinal axis of said frame, said handle having an elongated slot throughout the greater portion of its length, a pivot pin traversing said slot, said plates having a nested position wherein inner portions of each are in slidable sealing overlapping relationship and an expanded position wherein said overlapping relationship is reduced, a first tie rod having one end pivotally connected about said pin and a second end connected to said first plate and a second tie rod having one end pivotally connected about said pin and a second end connected to said second plate.

4. A removable and adjustable dam for an irrigation ditch defined by a bottom and a pair of side walls comprising, an elongated upright frame having a lower end in engagement with said bottom, first and second dam plates pivotally secured at their lower ends to said frame about a common axis, a handle member mounted on the upper end of said frame for reciprocal movement along the longitudinal axis of said frame, said plates having a nested position wherein inner portions of each are in overlapping relationship and an expanded position wherein said overlapping relationship is reduced, a sealing strip between said plates, a spring supported in said frame biasing said plates toward each other to compress said strip, a first tie rod connecting said handle to said first plate and a second tie rod connecting said handle to said second plate.

5. A removable and adjustable dam for an irrigation ditch defined by a bottom and a pair of side walls comprising, an elongated upright frame having a lower end in engagement with said bottom, first and second darn plates pivotally secured at their lower ends to said frame, a handle member mounted on the upper end of said frame for reciprocal movement along the longitudinal axis of said frame, said plates having a nested position wherein inner portions of each are in overlapping relationship and an expanded position wherein said overlapping relationship is reduced, said plates each comprising an impervious, resilient sheet body having outer side wall engaging edges, sealing means causing said edges to sealingly engage said side walls, a first tie rod connecting said handle to said first plate and a second tie rod connecting said handle to said second plate, compressible sealing means mounted on one of said inner sections between the overlapping portions of said plates and biasing means in said frame urging said plates toward one another.

6. A removable and adjustable dam for an irrigation ditch defined by a bottom and a pair of side walls comprising, an elongated upright frame having a lower end in engagement with said bottom, first and second dam plates pivotally secured at their lower ends about a common axis through the lower end of said frame, a handle member mounted on the upper end of said frame for reciprocal movement along the longitudinal axis of said frame, said plates having a nested position wherein inner portions of each are in overlapping relationship and an expanded position wherein said overlapping relationship is reduced, a sealing strip between said plates, a spring supported in said frame biasing said plates toward each other to compress said strip, said plates each comprising an impervious, resilient sheet having outer side wall engaging edges, sealing means causing said edges to sealingly engage said side walls, a first tie rod connecting said handle to said first plate and a second tie rod connecting said handle to said second plate.

7. The dam described in claim 6 wherein said sealing means is a sharpened edge to penetrate the substance of said side walls.

8. The dam described in claim 6 wherein said sealing means is a strip of rubber extending the length of said outer side wall engaging edges.

9. The dam described in claim 8 wherein a coil spring is mounted to each of said plates for normally biasing said plates to their side wall engaging position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 301,143 7/1884 Oppy 6129 836,278 11/1906 Ross 6129 1,172,423 2/1916 Bogard 6129 2,058,751 10/1936 Woolfrey 5216 4 2,763,992 9/1956 Rothenberger 61-'29 3,017,000 1/1962 Hynds 52l64 3,090,202 5/1963 Spickard 6l-29 FOREIGN PATENTS 841,369 7/1960 Great Britain.

EARL J. WITMER, Primaly Examiner. 

1. A DEVICE FOR SEALING AN IRRIGATION DITCH COMPRISING, A TUBULAR FRAME HAVING A LOWER POINTED END AND AN UPPER OPEN END, SAID FRAME HAVING A PAIR OF OPPOSING ELONGATED SLOTS RUNNING SUBSTANTIALLY THE ENTIRE LENGTH THEREOF, FIRST AND SECOND SUBSTANTIALLY TRIANGULAR PLATES, A POINT OF EACH PLATE PIVOTALLY SECURED TO THE LOWER END OF SAID FRAME, SAID PLATES HAVING SLIDABLY OVERLAPPING INNER PORTIONS SLIDABLY RECEIVED IN SAID SLOTS, A HANDLE HAVING A LOWER PORTION TELESCOPICALLY RECEIVED THROUGH SAID UPPER 